Russian Quarterly

Issue # 1234

April, 2016

History of Russian Government

Background/History
Following the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, the Russian government adopted
communism as its main economic system (Russian Revolution) . Under the
communist ideology, the government became the supreme ruler of the people,
often snuffing out dissenters (Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News, 2015). The
communist regime, known as the Soviet Union, lasted for over fifty years in Russia
before falling in 1991 (Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News, 2015).Since then, Russia
has embraced a more capitalistic form of government but still has a long way to go
in terms of rebuilding after the Soviet years. Recently, Russia has been the subject
of much controversy due to their increasingly hostile relations with the Ukraine
(Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News, 2015). This hostility has in turn created an icy
relationship

between Russia and the

United States

(Russia profile -

Timeline - BBC

News, 2015).

Current Model

Picture of Vladimir Lenin who ushered in

communism in 1917. (Russia profile Timeline - BBC News)

Russias government is somewhat similar to the United States. Every six years,
there is a direct election in which any Russian citizen 18 years or older can vote for
the president (Explaining Russias political system, 2011). Once a president is
selected, he may then nominate a prime minister, members of the Constitutional
Court, Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court of Arbitration (Explaining Russias
political system, 2011). These nominations are then either confirmed or denied by
the Duma which is an assembly of politicians who work to balance the executive
power of the president, much like the U.S. congress (Explaining Russias political

Russian Quarterly
Issue # 1234

April, 2016

system, 2011). The Duma is split between the State Duma and the Federal Council,
with the State Duma consisting 450 seats elected by the people every 4 years
(Explaining Russias political system, 2011). The Federal Council consists of 166
representatives; two from each of the 83 federal subjects within Russia (Explaining
Russias political system). Half of the members of the Federal Council are appointed
by the president, the other half are appointed by regional legislatures (Explaining
Russias political system)

(Explaining Russia's political system, 2011)

Current President: Vladimir Putin

Russias current president is Vladimir Putin, who is now in his 3 rd term as executive
leader of Russia (Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News, 2015). Vladimir Putin first
won the presidency in 2000 and opened relations with the U.S. through a mutual
agreement on reducing nuclear weapons (Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News,
2015). In 2004, Putin won a second term as president and began to reform the
Russian government by preventing citizens from being able to elect regional
legislators (Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News, 2015). This second term saw more
controversy, with Putin withdrawing from an EU treaty which requires participating
countries to limit military arming (Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News, 2015). Under
Russias constitution, Putin was unable to run for a third consecutive term. However,
Putin was appointed prime minister by then Russian president and friend, Dmitry
Medvedev (Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News, 2015). In 2012, Putin runs for
president and wins again, prompting riots (Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News,

Russian Quarterly
Issue # 1234

April, 2016

2015). Since his re-election, Putin has created tension with the United States after
invading Crimea in February of 2014. Since then, The European Union and the
United States have placed economic sanctions on Russia (Russia profile - Timeline
BBC News, 2015).

Work Cited

Explaining Russia's political system. (2011, December). Retrieved April 07, 2016, from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/rbth/politics/8926401/Russias-politicalsystem.html

Russian Revolution. (n.d.).

Retrieved of
April
07, (Russia
2016, from
Opponents
Putin.
profile - Timeline - BBC
News, 2015)

http://www.history.com/topics/russian-revolution

Russia profile - Timeline - BBC News. (2015, November 30). Retrieved April 07, 2016, from
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17840446